The First Day...

Project: Circa 1920 Craftsman Style Home Renovation, Ball Ground, GA

Time Estimate: 6-8 Weeks

Project Budget: $58,000 plus $8,700 Contingency

Project Scope: Remove addition that closed in original side porch, update kitchen, all new electrical, add master bath, refinish hardwood floors where available, turn office into master bedroom.
Potential Georgia State Tax Credits: $12,500

General Contractor: Dustin Arnold, Arnold Building Group,LLC
Electrical Contractor: Jody Waldroup, Wesco-Electric

My name is Stefanie Joyner and I am the Executive Director of the Cherokee County Historical Society. As preservationists, we are always telling others the importance of saving buildings. We advocate for their rehabilitation and talk about how economically feasible it is to reuse, rather than demolish older buildings. Well, now I am the owner of a house in need of renovation, so I’m practicing what I preach and putting my money where my mouth is! It’s not easy, I’ll freely admit. Mainly it’s the fear of not knowing what you’ll find, or what’s...underneath the dingy carpet, underneath the outdated wallpaper, and definitely what’s underneath the house itself. So before you commit your money, you do the inspections to make sure that the foundation is solid and the floors don’t feel “spongy.” Most importantly, you bring in the professionals to verify that information. Because despite my Master’s degree in historic preservation, I rely on the craftsmen who do this for a living, and have their hands in old walls or galvanized plumbing all day.  My good friends Steven Thacker and Glen Bliss tell me that I’ve bought a good house. They have renovated dozens of houses in the area and this is the third house that I’ve dragged them to look at for me.  It’s in Ball Ground, on Old Canton Road north of the 4-way stop near the intersection of Commerce Drive. It’s a craftsman style home and I think it was built around 1920.  I still have to do the research, but I bought it from the Holcomb family and it was where Bessie & Grady Holcomb lived for over 50 years and raised their family. It was important to the family that it be preserved; I will be making changes such as adding a bathroom and redoing the kitchen, but I will keep some of the mementos left from their residence including the children’s names written on shelves in the hall closet. I will also be applying for the 25% Georgia State tax credit, and the 8 1/2 year tax assessment freeze for my renovation expenses. Fortunately, the house is in the Ball Ground Historic District and qualifies for these benefits. Unfortunately, Steven & Glen are already committed to another job, so I am fortunate to find another great renovation crew.

I closed on the house September 28, a Monday afternoon. It was not an easy closing. I applied for a 203(k) loan, which is a purchase and renovation loan put together. I thought that this would save me money rather than doing two closings, but as it turns out the fees for this loan probably equal what it would have cost to do an outright purchase and then a home improvement/equity loan. But that Monday afternoon I was happy that I could move in after living at a friend’s house for the past month.  As I took a walk around my new, old house, I got this sick feeling in my stomach accompanied by the thought of “What did I get myself into…” As you can see from the photographs, the house is not in bad shape, mainly outdated. My plans include turning the middle bedroom into the new master bath, the former doctor’s office space into the new master bedroom, taking off the enclosed addition to open up the original side porch, update all of the electrical, redo the kitchen and restore the hardwood floors where possible. The renovation plan seemed reasonable to me, but contractor’s eyebrows rose when I said I was going to live here during the process. And that first night as I walked through the rooms, I was overwhelmed.

To feel more productive, I began by removing the drapery from the windows. The former occupant had made custom drapes and while they were nice, they just weren’t my style. The house had also been empty for 4 years, so they were quite dusty. To help combat my nerves, I turned on most of the lights, cranked up the a/c and got to work. I made good progress, but turned in after a few hours and tried to get comfortable on my air mattress. At about 3:30am I woke up and smelled something burning. It was strongest at the a/c return right outside the bedroom door, so I turned off the thermostat and grabbed a flashlight since the unit is in the basement and the only access is from the outside. There was no sign of fire & smell wasn’t strong in the basement, so I headed back upstairs. I’ve seen many historic buildings go up in flames due to old wiring, so I decided to call the fire department. They arrive about 20 minutes later and agree that it smells like burning rubber. They check the basement, then head upstairs to the attic where we find the smell is stronger. Strangely enough, the smell is strongest outside the house. The firemen go over each rafter in the attic and open all the closets, but can’t find anything. They leave about daylight and tell me to call again if the smell persists. I’m still a bit nervous, so I call my electrician, Chris (his boss, Jody was on vacation). He tells me he’s on his way to Big Canoe but will fit me in between his other appointments.  About 15 minutes later he arrives & said he thought he’d better come by my house first. I’m definitely relieved, but don’t really expect much so while he goes up to the attic I’m puttering around downstairs. All of the sudden I hear him yell, “TURN OFF THE POWER NOW!” I freak out and run down to the basement and stare at the electrical panel and realize I don’t know how to.

It’s not like the breaker panel I’m used to and I don’t want to get electrocuted. Of course I don’t want my house to burn down either so I run back upstairs & meet him on the way down. He goes to the fuse box and begins pulling out the tubes.  He tells me that the electrical wiring in the attic is basically wrapped in cloth and covered by loose insulation, and that the smell was from the insulation burning. Chris shuts down my power, but comes by twice more that day just to make sure everything’s OK.

I find out later that day that I need a new hot water heater, and we can’t get one installed until we get the new electrical panel. After working all day I’m covered in sweat so the thought of a cold shower doesn’t bother me too much. Unfortunately, all I get out of the showerhead is a drip. I’m exhausted since I’ve been up since 3:30am, so I just go to bed, determined to figure it all out tomorrow.